Relief

Xu Hui's slap was so hard that Xu Tao's face was swollen with obvious five finger marks.Xie Zhixu wanted to see how he was hurt, but was pushed away by Xu Tao.

Xie Zhixu: "..."

Xu Tao said with a gloomy face: "That old stubborn, old man has always said that I am a street gangster from before, and looks down on me."

Xie Zhixu made a booing gesture, signaling him to keep his voice down.Xu Hui was driving outside, this car was not wide and deep, so it couldn't hide small talk.

Xu Tao didn't care at all, he just stared at Xie Zhixu and said, "What do you think? You taught me the trick of throwing sand."

Xie Zhi humbly said, but I didn't teach you to use it on me.I didn't know what to say for a while, so I smiled at Xu Tao.

The car was driving between the field ridges, the road was bumpy, and gradually the clear sound of pumping water could be heard.Xie Zhixu opened the car curtain a crack, he was very familiar with this route, he had walked it countless times in midsummer when he went down the river with his playmates to cool off.

But there was no waterwheel in Tianbian at that time.

After a serious look, he was convinced that the aqueducts beside the field were newly added in recent years.

A hand was placed on the shoulder to grab him back to the car.Xu Tao warned him: "Hou Daizhao's ears and eyes are all over you, you'd better not show your face."

Xie Zhixu did not expect that the first stop Xu Hui took him to visit his hometown was the river where the teenagers swam.In the past, they played well with him, except for one Xu Tao, who were all disciples or half-eldest sons of the servants in the village. Xu Hui said that these people were the cronies he and Xu Tao made, and they didn't think highly of them.

Facing Xie Zhixu's doubts, Xu Tao sneered, and vaguely said that he would know when he went.

The river had already dried up, and there was a thin trickle flowing against the river bed, perhaps not as deep as a finger.

A black-shell crab the size of a thumb crawled out from under the pebbles, and was caught by a child who had been waiting for a long time. The child rummaged through the pebbles, but found very little, and returned disappointed, so only the three people by the carriage were left by the river. .

"The children don't even go to the river to play." Xu Tao chirped.

"Hou Daizhao never leaves useless things in his hands," Xu Hui said, "A river for children to swim in is far less valuable than an aqueduct that can irrigate farmland."

Xu Hui raised his hand and pointed out that there was a section of embankment built of bamboo cages and pebbles in the upper reaches of the river, which intercepted the water flow and diverted it into the diversion canal on the field ridge. A waterwheel at the entrance of the canal continuously watered the seedling fields.

Xie Zhixu looked at it for a while, then said dully, "It's pretty good."

Xu Hui said: "Young master, don't forget that the farmland below the mountain belongs to your Xie family, not his Hou family. Hou Daizhao murdered people to seize the property, and now he is even more generous with others to bribe the farmers. The foolish people can't be educated. If you give them some benefits, follow them. By intercepting the river and building the canal, this field would have changed a long time ago.”

They walked downstream along the river bank. In Xie Zhixu's impression, there was a large cherry grove in the lower reaches. It was originally owned by a landlord family surnamed Liu. Fruity, sweet and far away.

After walking for a cup of tea, not to mention the orchard, I didn't even see a tree.

Xie Zhixu immediately realized what Xu Hui was going to show him.

Xu Hui glanced at him and said, "Hou Daizhao demolished the cherry orchard and distributed it to farmers in the first year of his reign. The forest burned for a day and a night, leaving only a pile of ashes."

Xu Tao went on to say: "The cherry grove belongs to Wu Tao, and everyone in the village privately said that Hou Daizhao was burned for the followers of Uncle Xie. Those who follow others will prosper, and those who oppose others will perish. family property."

Xie Zhixu finally found the voice: "Brother Tao is dead...?"

It was Xu Tao's turn to be taken aback: "You don't know?"

"...I haven't been back to Jiangling, so I can't find any news."

"I was burned to death together with your father." Xu Tao said.

Xie Zhixu stared at the field in front of him, blinked his eyes, and immediately raised his sleeve and scraped fiercely at his eyes, as if he wanted to peel off the flesh.

Xu Hui patted him on the shoulder, walked to the carriage shaft and sat far away, leaving time for the two friends who grew up together.

The sweet fragrance of cherries no longer smells in the wind, and the farmers working in the seedling fields seem to be in high spirits.

"Wu Tao is dead, and third uncle is also dead." Xu Tao and Xie Zhixu sat side by side by the river bank. "There are many other people, including Zhang San's parents."

Zhang San is one of their playmates, his parents are disciples of the village, Xie Zhixu has met him a few times, but he doesn't have a deep impression on him, compared to the hundreds of people in the village who call him every day. There is nothing unique about it, but now a pile of loess buried their bones, which gave them a different identity from the rest of the people who are still alive—they died to follow Xie Wen.

Hou Daizhao used iron and blood to suppress his disciples and subdued his tenants with a soft policy, and his status was extremely respected and stable for a while.

In Xu Tao's mouth, in order to please Hou Daizhao, these stupid tenants set aside a piece of the fattest field to provide high-quality grain, rice, fruits and vegetables for the Hou family.

"Where do you think is the fattest field?"

Xu Tao pointed his finger down.

Xie Zhixu suddenly realized that the most fertile land is of course the cherry grove under his feet.Delicate fruits such as cherries are not easy to feed. If it is not for the top-notch soil quality, even if they barely bear fruit, they will be sour and unpalatable. In order to grow sweet and plump cherries, Wu Tao spent a lot of time transporting them from Guangnan West Road. Lime is used as fertilizer, which consumes money and labor. It is like cultivating the fruit forest with all the heart and soul.

Not to mention that the seedling field in front of me grows on the corpses left by the burning of the fruit forest.

"It's a pity that those tenants flattered the horse's hooves. Master Hou doesn't like to eat what they pay tribute to." Xu Tao spread his hands, waiting for Xie Zhixu to ask why.

"……why?"

"Master Hou Dabao said that the things that grow in this land, even the rice smells like cherries."

A few horses came running from a distance, and the knight immediately put on his armor, got off his horse and went to the farmer's yard.

Several bare-chested farmers in the seedling field hurriedly chased after them, and saw the knight pull out two horses from the courtyard, and the two sides were arguing with half of the reins each in front of the courtyard gate.

Xie Zhixu's eyes were drawn to him, and Xu Tao explained to him: "The people from the cavalry battalion came to snatch the horse. Hou Daizhao sent the horse to the people, and the cavalry battalion snatched it back. You can see it everywhere in Jiangling Mansion." Such a farce." He snorted disdainfully from his nasal cavity.

"Uncle Hou... Didn't Hou Daizhao get the official position of appeasement envoy to command the local garrison?" Xie Zhixu asked.

Xu Tao's expression was even more dismissive: "The one who really has the command of the garrison is the Metropolitan Control Department, who directly obeys orders from the Jingbei North Road Xuanfu envoy. Hou Daizhao's position as a conciliator has the right to speak, but it is ugly. It's just that Fu Yin gave him a bone without meat because he led the forces in the rivers and lakes to surrender, that's all for pure meaning. It's just that he thinks he is proud of himself, and he tries to reform the system in vain, so people in the army may laugh at him."

Those cavalrymen overturned the peasants who were holding on to the reins, drew their swords and pointed threateningly, the tall war horses pulled out from the farmyard snorted, and touched the cavalry mounts in the face, proudly The fur on the head is shiny, and it can be seen clearly even from a distance.

Those are horses for war, not oxen for plowing.

The cavalry drove away.

"Just because of this, we are in vain to return to Yizhuang." Xu Tao spat angrily.

They wandered around the fields for a long time, and in the afternoon, Xu Hui proposed to take Xie Zhixu back to the villa to have a look.

The euphemistic name is that there are many people in the village, like Xu Hui, suppressing their hatred for Hou Daizhao in their hearts, saving their strength for the time being, and waiting for the Xie family to return to the orthodox uprising.In fact, Xie Zhixu knew that Xu Hui wanted to show himself what the former Guiyi Village and the current Baima Castle looked like under Hou Daizhao's reconstruction.

Even beasts know anger when their lair is destroyed.

Xu Tao put on a hood with a wig on him in the carriage, completely covering his neck, and the seams were hidden in the collar. Apart from being uncomfortable, the disguise was flawless.

Xie Zhixu looked at the bronze mirror, and in the mirror was a face that was neither familiar nor unfamiliar. Walking on the street, seven out of ten people he met had such a face.He twitched the corners of his mouth, and the skin on the outside didn't move at all, which prevented him from even losing control of his emotions in case.

The carriage drove into the stele pavilion and climbed all the way along the mountain forest and stone road.

As soon as you enter the deep forest, your ears suddenly become silent, and the singing of birds seems far away. The prelude is so familiar and frightening.

Breathing under the skin, Xie Zhixu felt that his face was covered with sweat, he wanted to meet Xu Tao's eyes, but Xu Tao didn't look at him, his eyes were fixed on the car curtain that was about to be opened, and he looked more nervous than him.

Brazenly bringing Xie Zhixu into Hou Daizhao's base camp, Xu Hui and his son bear a lot of pressure.

The carriage stopped, and Xu Hui lifted the curtain: "Here we are."

Xu Tao and Xie Zhixu swallowed at the same time, and got out of the car one after the other.

The sight is a forest of fiery red cherry blossoms, with colorful falling flowers, stepping on the mountain road as if the soles of shoes are on fire.

The villa is still the same as it used to be. The gate of the mansion is built in the deep forest. In front of the gate is a huge black stone that is not close to grass. On the stone sits a man leaning on a spear. .

Xie Zhixu breathed a sigh of relief and almost didn't recover. He knew that there was only a numb expression on his face at the moment, but he heard his own voice trembling: "Xiao, Brother Xiaotao?!"

Is there such a thing as resurrection from the dead?

The answer to this question does not distinguish between intelligence and knowledge, only what is lost in one's life.

——How many times have I told you to call me brother, call me brother!Calling Uncle seems like I am a generation older than you.

——Shh, brother will take you to play in the city, quietly, without telling your father.

——Xiaojing, Xiaojing!Come and taste something new, this is a big cherry from the east of Zhejiang, I planted it myself, sweet, hehe.Hey, eating two is enough, and it's not specially brought for you.

——Come on, Jinghui, let's compare each other to see if your Xie Shiji Sword is stronger, or my Wu Family Spear is stronger!

Xie Zhixu took two steps and galloped up the mountain road. Xu Tao called him from behind in panic, but these were not important anymore. He saw a flash of light under the silver helmet, as if it was the owner of the patterned armor. Bright eyes.

He knelt down in front of the boulder with a plop, the silver armor was awakened, and the light folded in the air shook like water waves.

The face was hidden deep in the helmet, looking down at him slightly.

Xie Zhixu couldn't believe it, he reached out to take off the helmet, but when he touched the armor, his fingers rattled.

Crack, Xu Hui caught up and grabbed his wrist.

"Wu Tao died a long time ago." Xu Hui said in a deep voice.

Inside the silver helmet, there was no handsome face familiar to young people.

"His ashes are inside the armor," Xu Hui said.

The porcelain urn was hidden in the helmet, and was illuminated with a bright luster by the sunlight penetrating through the red cherry forest.

Xie Zhixu's eyes darkened.

"Why?!"

Xu Hui picked him up from the ground: "Because Wu Tao guarded the villa for Master Xie all his life, he would rather die than obey Hou Daizhao. After the fire, Hou Daizhao collected his ashes and placed them in front of the mansion, and asked him to die after his death." Stay at Whitehorse Castle and be a porter."

The door of the mansion opened, and the doorman Xie Zhixu had never seen before came out and saluted Xu Hui.

"You'd better restrain yourself when you enter this door, otherwise, you won't be the only one who is finished." Xu Hui whispered to Xie Zhixu.